Last season at this time, Red Sox fans had only experienced a quick preview of what had seemingly been deemed the long term occupant of center field at Fenway Park. Jacoby Ellsbury spent the first week in July of last season introducing himself to Red Sox Nation and offering just enough to leave us intrigued by his raw speed and athletic ability.
Come September and into October, it became apparent that Ellsbury could be a staple in center field and at the top of the order for years to come. Ellsbury would end his first abbreviated season in Boston with a .353 average, .903 OPS, and a World Series title.
Red Sox fans were so confident in what they had in Jacoby Ellsbury throughout the off-season, that they deemed Johan Santana not worth his (and others) loss and his primary competition in center, Coco Crisp, expendable. Could you blame us? We had seen the second coming of Johnny Damon and we liked it.
After a solid start to the 2008 season that saw him hitting near .300 with a surprising displays of pop with the bat and flat out dominance on the basepaths stealing his first 16 bags before being caught, Ellsbury hit the first real slump of his career around the end of May. In the 57 games he has played in since May 25th, over 230 at bats, Ellsbury’s line looked, well, Coco-like; .235/.269/.304.
That slump saw him drop out of the top spot in the lineup and had fans wondering if Coco Crisp might actually be commanding a little more playing time once the corners were solidified with Jason Bay and J.D. Drew.
It was clear that Jacoby Ellsbury was struggling at the plate in almost every way possible; lost, overmatched, and searching for his swing. Dave Cameron at Fan Graphs would go so far as to call him “ice cold”.
After a phenemonal debut last year, expectations for Ellsbury were high, but he
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